Kevin Ireland: Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
- Appointed Director of Competitive Programming for the Fort Collins region
- Scot moves from club lead role in New Zealand to take up his new challenge
- Began his travels as a Varsity player at university in Palm Beach, Florida
Kevin Ireland has landed an exciting new role with Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club in the States. The adventurous Football Careers client’s football journey has already seen him playing amidst the sights of the golden sands of Florida’s Palm Beach and coaching in New Zealand.
Now he has been selected from a deep candidate pool to work with CRYSC as the Director of Competitive Programming for the Fort Collins region. Scot Kevin moves from his post as Director of Football at East Coast Bays AFC, one of New Zealand’s top emerging clubs, to take on his next challenge.
And he said: ”I am thrilled to have joined Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club as the Director of Competitive Programming for the Fort Collins region. I am excited to develop the game and help grow the Rapids brand in the area.
”Fort Collins is a vibrant soccer community with passionate youth soccer players who I’m excited to work with over the coming years. I want to thank the leadership team at CRYSC for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity.”
Kevin went through the Academy system in his native Scotland as a player and ended that pathway in the U19 squad of Ayr United who currently lie third in the Scottish Championship.
Ireland’s eyes, though, had always been on the dream of playing and getting an education in America and he moved to Palm Beach Atlantic University in NCAA Division Two where he had four stellar years.
Kevin started out on his coaching route at University and also worked with Jupiter United in the highly competitive Florida youth club arena. He would go on to become Director of Football there and embark on a successful two-year rebuild of the club.
Kevin then took a leap of faith to move to New Zealand and last year the tireless Scot’s work saw East Coast Bays awarded the highest possible accreditation from New Zealand Football for their Player Development Centre and Talent Development programmes.
Last year Kevin was the subject of a popular in-depth feature on the site and we asked him what advice he would give to young, aspiring coaches who’d like to follow a pathway like his.
Kevin stressed then: “I have been gone from Scotland for 11 years now but if I was a young coach back home now I would say to them to immerse themselves in every football relationship possible.
“Be a little bit humble, know that you need to be taught as a coach and reach out to those who know more than you do. Good coaches share their knowledge, I didn’t realise that at first but from 25 years old on I have learned that and I have drawn on it to become better at what I do.”
